Digital cinema and streaming

In little more than two decades, cinema moved from photochemical film to digital capture, digital effects, digital projection and online distribution. Streaming platforms became major producers, changing how films are financed, released and watched, and raising new questions about national culture, labor and artificial intelligence. This lesson traces the digital transition from the 1990s to the 2020s, explains how films now travel from camera to screen, and compares Canadian and American responses to the streaming era.

Digital effects and digital post-production

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) appeared in feature films in the 1970s and 1980s and became a major force in the 1990s. Landmark uses included photorealistic computer-generated creatures in a 1993 dinosaur blockbuster and the first fully computer-animated feature, released by Pixar in 1995. Digital compositing, digital matte painting and motion capture expanded what filmmakers could show.

Post-production also went digital. Non-linear editing systems, such as Avid from the late 1980s, let editors cut on computers rather than physically splicing film. From around 2000, the digital intermediate process scanned entire films so that color could be graded digitally before printing back to film, giving colorists precise control over the look. By the 2010s, editing, effects, color grading and sound mixing were almost entirely digital.

Digital capture

Digital video cameras were used for low-budget and documentary filmmaking from the 1990s. The Danish Dogme 95 movement, launched by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, used handheld consumer video cameras for some of its films, and digital video helped independent filmmakers shoot cheaply. In the 2000s, high-definition cinema cameras improved rapidly, and by the 2010s digital cameras with large sensors and high dynamic range had largely replaced film for both studio and independent production. A minority of filmmakers continue to shoot on 35 mm and 65 mm film for its look and working discipline, and Kodak continues to manufacture motion picture film, but film capture is now a choice rather than the default.

The digital projection transition

For a century, films reached cinemas as 35 mm prints, heavy reels that cost about a thousand dollars or more each to print and ship. In 2005, the Digital Cinema Initiatives consortium of major studios published specifications for digital cinema, defining the Digital Cinema Package (DCP), encryption and projection standards. Studios and exhibitors created financing arrangements, often called virtual print fees, under which distributors helped pay for cinemas' digital projectors from savings on prints. The 3D boom around 2009, led by a record-breaking science-fiction epic, accelerated conversion because digital 3D required digital projectors.

Between about 2009 and 2013, most cinemas in North America converted to digital projection. By the end of 2013, a large majority of screens were digital, and studios soon stopped distributing 35 mm prints for most releases. Many small independent cinemas that could not afford conversion closed, while some community fundraising campaigns saved local theaters.

Home video to streaming

Home viewing evolved through several stages: broadcast television, then videocassettes (VHS) in the late 1970s and 1980s, then DVD from the late 1990s and Blu-ray from 2006. Each format became a major revenue stream and changed how films were watched and studied. DVDs, with commentaries and restored versions, also helped create a new culture of film collecting and criticism.

Netflix began as a DVD-by-mail service in 1997 and launched streaming in 2007. In 2013 it released its first major original series, and it soon became a major producer of films and series, followed by Amazon, Apple, Disney (whose Disney+ service launched in 2019), Warner Bros. Discovery and others. Netflix reported about 301.6 million paid memberships at the end of 2024, then stopped reporting quarterly subscriber numbers in 2025. Streaming services offered vast libraries, original films and series, and personalized recommendations driven by viewing data.

The pandemic and release windows

For decades, films followed a sequence of release windows: an exclusive theatrical run, typically about 90 days in North America, followed by home video, pay television, streaming and free television. The COVID-19 pandemic closed cinemas in North America for long periods in 2020 and 2021. Studios postponed films, sent some directly to streaming, and experimented with releasing films in cinemas and on streaming on the same day. After cinemas reopened, studios and exhibitors negotiated shorter theatrical windows, often around 45 days or less for many films, though window lengths vary by film and studio.

Consolidation and policy in the United States

In the United States, the 2020 termination of the Paramount decrees removed restrictions that had limited studios' involvement in cinema ownership since 1948. Media consolidation continued: Disney acquired most of Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment assets in 2019, Amazon acquired MGM in 2022, and WarnerMedia merged with Discovery in 2022. Critics argue that consolidation reduces the number of buyers for films and the diversity of what gets made, while supporters argue that scale is needed to compete with global technology companies.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America struck from May to September and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) struck from July to November, the first time both unions had struck at the same time since 1960. Key issues included pay and residuals in the streaming era, staffing levels, and protections against the use of artificial intelligence to generate scripts or replicate performers' likenesses and voices. The agreements that ended the strikes included the first contract terms governing AI in Hollywood labor.

In the United States, the 2023 settlements set precedents that other entertainment unions built on, including requirements for consent and compensation when digital replicas of performers are created, and rules that AI-generated material cannot be treated as literary material that reduces writers' credit or pay.

Canada's Online Streaming Act

Canada's broadcasting policy has long required Canadian broadcasters to show and fund Canadian content. In April 2023, Parliament passed the Online Streaming Act, often known by its bill number, C-11, which amended the Broadcasting Act to bring online streaming services under the regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). In June 2024, the CRTC required large online streaming services to contribute 5 % of their Canadian revenues to funds supporting Canadian and Indigenous content and news. The decision was challenged in court by streaming companies, and its implementation was delayed. In 2026 the federal government announced it intended to reset this approach, so the final shape of streaming obligations remains in flux; check current CRTC decisions before relying on any figure.

For American companies, Canadian policy is part of a wider set of international rules, from European streaming quotas and investment obligations to trade disputes, that shape how streaming services operate outside the United States.

What digital change means for film history

Digital technology has transformed film history in two directions. It has made thousands of older films more accessible than ever through restoration, home video and streaming. It has also created new preservation problems: digital files depend on formats, software and storage media that become obsolete quickly, and archives must migrate data regularly. Some archivists still recommend recording important digital films back to photochemical film for long-term preservation. And the vast libraries of streaming services can disappear when licenses expire or titles are removed, a reminder that access is not the same as preservation.

Studying recent film history

Recent film history poses its own challenges. Sources are abundant but scattered across press releases, trade reporting, social media, company filings and interviews, and much of it is shaped by public relations. Streaming services often do not publish detailed viewing figures, so claims about a film's popularity may rest on company statements that cannot be checked independently. Rules and policies, such as streaming regulations, are changing as you study them. When researching events of the last few years, date every source carefully, prefer documents such as court filings, regulatory decisions and company reports over commentary, and be ready to revise your conclusions as new evidence appears.